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Winning Back to School – Part 1 – Three Tips to Have a Healthy Start to the School Year

Every year I feel like summer goes by faster and faster. Memorial Day seems like just a month ago and the Fourth of July a couple weekends ago, unfortunately that’s not the case. This upcoming weekend is Labor Day, and with that, the “official” end of summer.

Summer is a great for a laundry list of reasons and one of them is that it is much easier to be healthy during the summer. This is especially true for kids and important if you’re a parent of a kid who’s going back to school in the next week. During the summer kids have plenty of time to sleep, run around outdoors, and generally, eat better quality food.

The start of a new school year doesn’t mean that the healthy habits have to stop. Below are my three tips to have a healthy start to the school year.

Sleep

Research has shown that teenagers need between eight and ten hours of sleep per day. I cannot stress enough how important getting adequate rest is. Getting quality rest at night impacts your ability to think, energy levels, and health in many ways. Interestingly enough, sleeping in on weekends can be counterproductive as it alters your sleep cycle. The best way to make sure you and your family are sleeping enough is to have a sleep log where you write down when you went to bed, woke up, how much sleep you got, and how you felt that day. Getting enough rest is essential as being sleepy impacts every aspect of your life.

Hydrate

Staying properly hydrated is tricky. Most people only have water when they’re thirsty, but that’s too late. The general guideline is to drink eight glasses of water a day. While this may seem unnecessary and daunting, in reality it’s very doable and has great benefits. Staying properly hydrated keeps your body functioning healthily. Mild dehydration can make you feel fatigued. The best way to hydrate while in school is to have a reusable water bottle and set goals. For example, to finish the bottle and refill it every two classes. This will help in two ways, the first, keeping the student hydrated, and, the second, helping the student stay alert. Cold water can be so refreshing that it acts as coffee and boosts energy and focus levels.

Eat Healthy Snacks

While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with snack time or eating snacks between meals, that depends on what you’re eating. In my opinion, there are too many unhealthy snacks in our schools. The best way to make sure that you and your family are eating healthy snacks is to bring them from home.

In Part 2 of Winning Back to School I’ll share my five favorite healthy snacks.

What’s your plan for having a healthy start to the school year? Let me know!